1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a display verification apparatus for a retail store or the like, and more particularly to an apparatus for comparing the items on display in a retail store to the store inventory to ensure that all items on display are in inventory, and that all items in inventory are on display.
2. Description of the Related Art
One common problem that is faced by retail stores, especially those such as shoe stores in which over 500 shoe and sneaker styles may be on display at any given time, is ensuring that all items that are on display are in the store's inventory. If displayed items are not in inventory, customer dissatisfaction and loss of sales may result.
An additional problem for retailers is ensuring that every shoe or sneaker style in inventory is on display. Generally speaking, the selling price for a shoe or sneaker design will be greatest when that style is new. If a style is in inventory but not on display, when the error is discovered and the item is eventually placed on display it may be at a lower selling price, thereby reducing the profitability on the item.
Conventionally, in order to check the display against inventory accuracy, a list of store inventory is printed and manually compared to the displays in the store. When hundreds of items are on display, this can be a costly and time consuming process. No technique is believed to exist for automating the display against inventory comparison process.
In the context of verification of shelf price labels, Gupta, U.S. Pat. No. 5,382,779, relates to a price verification method for retail stores in which shelf labels are provided with an extended bar code having an item number and price for the item. A remote scanner scans the item number and price and uses the item number to look up the item in a database which is identical to the store check-out scanner database. A comparison is made between the shelf price and the database price. If these prices are not the same, a new shelf label may be printed immediately.
It would be desirable to have a method of and apparatus for comparing the inventory of a retail store to the items on display in the store to ensure that all items in inventory are on display and to ensure that all items on display are in inventory.